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nomoxian 5,025

nomoxian 5,025

I feel sorry for the Maxwells, since that would bother them so much that they probably couldn't even handle the visit.

I don't feel sorry for them. They chose this lifestyle and passed on their unstable beliefs onto their children, some of whom are now passing it onto yet another generation. I feel sorry for the kids. I feel somewhat bad for the adult children, but I have to think that they know about the outside world to some extent and could leave if they really wanted to. I understand fear holds them, but other people raised in fundamentalism have left and survived and even thrived. I think part of what keeps them in is the daily "comforts" of having basic needs met, when they would have to go to a shelter if they left the neighbourhood compound.

The Maxwells couldn't even go on a Christian Cruise! A one-piece bathing suit would be showing thighs and shoulders and it would be too form fitting. Outside of the pool, lots of Christian women wear pants. I'm sure they would be offended about meetings that wouldn't involve the entire family from grandpappy down to greatgrandkid, and the meetings would be talking about stuff that is Ungodly because they aren't the Right Kind Of Christian.

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fundiefan 14,148

fundiefan 14,148

I don't know. I have anxiety and depression that drag me down every day and for me sewing on a button would be a whole project that might take me weeks to tackle (although I have the excuse of not knowing how to sew very well, I'd have to watch youtube videos before attempting it). Her trick of gathering the supplies with no expectation of doing it right then might actually even help. Really it's another version of the "break everything down into small steps" advice given to anxiety sufferers. I'll keep it in mind and give it a try when I get the opportunity.

Teri doesn't frame her stuff through depression, which in my opinion could prove to be far more helpful than the way she does stuff. If she were to frame the post with depression and how it affects life and struggle, it wouldn't be so damn pathetic.

Instead, she claims godly organization skills and says the most mundane of tasks are oh so much easier with her plan. She is addressing everyone as a whole, or her brand of 'Christian', and that's why it's a flopping failure and makes her look like an utter fool.

Addressing those who suffer from depression and offering insight into how she helps herself would make it a completely different story with a completely different point.

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nomoxian 5,025

nomoxian 5,025

To talk about depression in her blog posts would mean admitting she has those feelings. Sad feelings aren't allowed in Maxhell. Admitting to sad feelings is certainly not allowed, because that means you are a failure and sinner.

I really hope Steve reads here and gets Teri to make a post like @fundiefan describes. That would mean that, at least for a moment, she would have to sit with those feelings and articulate them out into the world instead of ignoring it all or silently trying to pray it away.

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Ozlsn 11,738

Ozlsn 11,738

Aw, come on, disciples! After everything Jesus has been through, y'all could at least pay for the drinks!

It just occurred to me that Jesus had more business contacts than the Maxwells. And that is actually kind of sad. Although they were probably expecting him to pick up the drinks tab what with the wine into water trick.

7 hours ago, crawfishgirl said:

I just read her latest post regarding her vacation. CO is a beautiful state. I think that one of the reasons they choose the same vacation each year is due to their isolation. At least everyone is covered up in the mountains and they don't run into many other people - can't say the same for most other summer vacation destinations. I think that they try to avoid people in shorts as much as possible. I wonder if it's ever occurred to them to choose something different? I can't imagine that of the five chidults at home, none of them have ever thought about visiting a different place one year. Maybe it wasn't such an issue in the past since they used to travel often for their conferences (and of course everyone was 'modest' and like-minded at their conferences) and their CO vacation was a good way to unwind. I wonder if it would be too exciting and off-schedule to visit the mountains in a different location - CO has other options, and UT and WY both border it and have good locations as well. I've heard that UT has a few people who are modest in their prairie dresses....

It might be fun for them to try to hike a mountain that they haven't hiked before - a better test of their skills, and still be around modestly-dressed people. We have a few vacation sites that we have visited multiple times because we enjoy it, but we try not to do so for two years in a row.

I live near the gulf coast, and most people dress for the weather - in other words, shorts and tank tops are common. Beach vacations are close and easy and usually inexpensive, but you will definitely run into many other people, and they might actually be showing knees or collarbones or more... I feel sorry for the Maxwells, since that would bother them so much that they probably couldn't even handle the visit.

If they really wanted to spread their wings they could look at Canada or Alaska.

I was going to suggest Egypt or somewhere in the middle east for covered beach holiday but I suspect the crowds would freak them out. Well that and some other stuff.

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grammyj 471

grammyj 471

Was looking at new blog--mostly pictures of Anna and Mary these days, well except for scenery. Have noticed that A and M have been very much featured over the past few years. Sarah , as often as not, is not in the picture at all. Agree with other commenters that the two younger women might be shown off as potential wives. Maybe. But maybe other family "relatives" have decided they do not want so much exposure.

Anyhoo, this brings me to my question: Do A and M WANT to be photographed for the blog over and over? Do they ever get to say they don't want to pose because one of them feels bloated, the other has a nasty pimple or bad hair? I NEED to know--do they ever have a choice??

Sigh. Probably not. Smiling and posing all the time, doesn't seem human. All I can think of is Toddlers and Tiaras for adult women. Without the makeup. (I'm sure A and M are lovely women. I just feel sad for them.....)

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Jingerale 377

Jingerale 377

It’s time I wrap up our Colorado trip. I enjoyed reading y’alls comments on Missouri Mountain.

The second sentence doesn't make sense to me. Why use "y'alls"? Why not "everyone's"? And shouldn't there be another apostrophe before the "s"? "Y'all's"? Isn't there a possessive rule? (Someone correct me if I'm wrong.)

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Fluffles 258

Fluffles 258

From what I remember, Terri wrote about her depression in the Mums corner - I remeber her crying in the shower and and being over whelmed with just 3 kids. Terri did get help for her depression - 2 phonecalls with a christian lady and the second one was at Steves insistance. See, he was very supportive of her. I think the christian lady showed her how to put things in perspective - don't ask me how 2 phone calls can suddenly cure her depression. I suffer from depression and anxiety and it takes a lot more than that to cure/cope with it.

If I was in Terris position with 8 kids, I'm not sure I would still be alive!

Terri did what she had to do to survive without going totally under. I don't think she was capable of worrying about the kids feelings. She has her wonderful husband to thank for that.

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Coconutwater 2,714

Coconutwater 2,714

I was just thinking, even if the kidults thought about running away, they would have to study for their GED before they could take classes for anything (like the blog post that mentions John) Teri made a point in the way back machine that their homeschool is unaccredited. They have skills and are hard workers, but without any education it's hard to leave and to stay and take the GED would raise too many questions I bet. There re ways, they could work and get their own place and do it, but that's probably not in their mindset. They probably all just feel trapped until they get married or Steve dies...

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nomoxian 5,025

nomoxian 5,025

I was just thinking, even if the kidults thought about running away, they would have to study for their GED before they could take classes for anything

I looked up the website for Kansas welfare programs and they do provide help with obtaining a GED. They also provide 'work experience' which I assume is something like an entry level job doing something for the city or for a company that has a deal with the city.

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HoneyBunny 3,115

HoneyBunny 3,115

Maxwells and Alexanders are my two favorite fundies to snark on, and I think they both suffer from that dreaded need to appear perfect and right in every situation. I've often thought about how much more relatable they could be (to those who want to relate to them, that is) if they admitted their faults and struggles and how they were working to overcome them. Teri has, kinda sorta tried to do that in this post, so I won't snark on that.

But they are still far from adopting the "we understand the difficulties young homeschooling families face, because we did/do too!" We all know things are not always cuddles and kisses in Nathan's and Christopher's families and all the scheduling in the world isn't going to make their lives perfect. What a service they would be providing if they just wrote about those struggles instead of taking smoking photos of 7 adults trying to fill their time and pretending they all have so much to do.

As for Lori, she has simply erased from memory all the horrid ways she acted toward her family when she was gong through the hard years. And then has the nerve to preach (sorry...mentor) the young women who are struggling and comes at them from a position of Godly perfection.

The hypocrisy and whitewashing probably does more to harm those seeking assistance than to support them.

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JermajestyDuggar 94,730

JermajestyDuggar 94,730

As for Lori, she has simply erased from memory all the horrid ways she acted toward her family when she was gong through the hard years. And then has the nerve to preach (sorry...mentor) the young women who are struggling and comes at them from a position of Godly perfection.

I actually see this a lot from her generation (my parents' gen). I often wonder if it's just part of growing old. Will I do this one day? I have so many friends who have MILs like Lori. They did everything just right and are forever giving their children the same advice on parenting. Yet the children remember it quite differently. Although I do think Lori takes it to an entirely different level. She's insufferable.

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FloraDoraDolly 3,779

FloraDoraDolly 3,779

I don't feel sorry for them. They chose this lifestyle and passed on their unstable beliefs onto their children, some of whom are now passing it onto yet another generation. I feel sorry for the kids. I feel somewhat bad for the adult children, but I have to think that they know about the outside world to some extent and could leave if they really wanted to. I understand fear holds them, but other people raised in fundamentalism have left and survived and even thrived. I think part of what keeps them in is the daily "comforts" of having basic needs met, when they would have to go to a shelter if they left the neighbourhood compound.

Can't say I blame them on that front. A shelter is a SCARY place. You only go there if you fear for your life at home, or if you've been kicked out. One of my friends was in the NYC shelter system for over a year and came out of that experience with post-traumatic stress disorder. And this is someone who grew up in the city and is somewhat streetwise. The Maxwell kidults have never even had to navigate their way through a public school lunchroom, let alone a shelter full of troubled people.

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Captain Obvious 4,775

Captain Obvious 4,775

But not surprising. The boys stop being part of the "immediate family" when they marry, only the "extended family".

Sure, births of kids in the "extended family" are announced, but not their birthdays, nor the birthdays or anniversaries of the married brothers or their wives. (Not regularly anyway - I think we did see an anniversary post for Nathan & Melanie once.)

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PennySycamore 28,289

PennySycamore 28,289

@Jingerale, you are correct about the possessive of y'all. I don't care how Southern you are, "everyone" would read better. I don't think the Maxwells are at all Southern and y'all is usually grating coming from a non-Southerner. Not all Southerners say y'all, btw. My dad was from Kentucky and they said "you all" and never y'all in his neck of the woods.

ETA: I'm watching a rerun of Cold Justice and Kelly Seigler just said y'all when she was talking to the otters people on her team. She's allowed as she's from Texas. It's in the y'all belt.

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anjulibai 15,096

anjulibai 15,096

But not surprising. The boys stop being part of the "immediate family" when they marry, only the "extended family".

Sure, births of kids in the "extended family" are announced, but not their birthdays, nor the birthdays or anniversaries of the married brothers or their wives. (Not regularly anyway - I think we did see an anniversary post for Nathan & Melanie once.)

They always acknowledge the anniversaries, though. Last year, they acknowledged Joe and Elissa's 2nd anniversary. It's very strange for them not to do so this year. Perhaps they will do it late? I don't know, but if they don't and they do acknowledge Christopher and Anna's next month, then something is up. We'll see.

We saw a woman on the corner of a busy intersection this evening with a brown cardboard sign that said "Please Repent" on one side and "Jesus Christ Saves" on the other. We're trying to figure out what makes you to decide to spend Friday evening waving a sloppy Jesus sign at an intersection. We've got nothing.

42 hours to go until I meet Kiki for the second (which feels like first) time. Got some small toys ready for her (we don't want her to use big sisters toys) and we are also kinda ready for guests. My Mum made sure to also clean the hidden spots under our bench in the kitchen. Kiki fits under there and we don't want her to come out covered in dust and dog hair. 😅 Our breeder wrote us that the "gang" enjoys the warm weather and they are in hunting mode, catching may beetles. Wish us luck and that there is a good connection between her and me so that I can make the final decision.

It never rains, but it pours. Went to the orthopedic doc today about my ankle and got the lovely news that I have some seriously torn ligaments...like maybe surgical repair torn. This is some serious bullshit.

My young neighbor died unexpectedly last fall, and his family has recently put his house up for sale. They are trying to sell the house themselves, but it's not listed on any of the sites that people trying to sell their homes themselves generally use, so....
I told Mr. Cartmann99 to pass the word along to coworkers he knows are looking for houses, as it would be nice to have someone that he could catch a ride to campus with when our car is in the shop and vice versa.